It can be difficult to get a read on a market that fluctuates wildly and often and is also prone to local shifts and trends. Homes.com set out to gauge buyer and seller sentiment, outlining trends and statistics in recently released survey results featuring 1,600 respondents from across the U.S.
Is Inventory Incentivizing or Discouraging Consumers?
Of course, a topic of interest is the housing market’s ongoing inventory shortage. While concerns over supply have painted a dismal picture when it comes to inflation, Homes.com’s survey shows otherwise.
Of the sellers surveyed who needed to sell and immediately purchase a new home, 86% achieved their goal, even despite low inventory. The remaining respondents chose to rent while continuing their home search.
“One of the major hesitancies homeowners have in putting their homes on the market in today’s environment is a concern about not being able to buy another property because of listing shortages,” said Homes.com President David Mele in the report. “Our survey found that sellers are not only reaping the benefits of selling in the current market, but are also finding successful ways to purchase their next home.”
Of course, the shortage has had an impact on prices and housing demand. Kirsten Jordan, a real estate broker and leader of the Kirsten Jordan Team at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, and star of BRAVO’s Million Dollar Listing NY, tells RISMedia she’s seeing fierce competition in her local market.
“There is a lack of availability of turnkey products in prime neighborhoods and this has led to above-ask bidding and closings,” says Jordan. “Buyers have come back to the city and would like to get situated before school starts in September. This caused an extremely active spring market for larger apartments on the Upper East Side, TriBeCa and the UWS.
Timing and Pricing: The Duo Driving Competition
Justin Bailey, CEO of Realty Executives Associates, is experiencing much of the same in his Knoxville, Tennessee market.
“Knoxville is currently holding at 0.4 months of inventory,” Bailey tells RISMedia. “With inventory so low, buyers are getting desperate as they compete for a property. We’re seeing multiple offers on nearly every listing with contracts coming in anywhere from $50,000 to $125,000 over asking price.”
According to the survey, 82% of homeowners who sold in the last six months accepted offers at listing price (33%) or above (49%).
Additionally, increased demand has not only pushed up prices, but it’s also having an impact on timing. In many markets, listings are pending within a week of going live; in others, even faster.
“The Knoxville median days on market is currently at two days with an average sales price of $265,000,” says Bailey.
However, this highly depends on what’s happening at the local level and varies within price points as well. For example, Jordan says Manhattan has an average days on market of 97, per Urban Digs on June 18.
The Homes.com survey found some fluctuation within this metric as well, though the timetable has clearly sped up. Nearly half of homes sold in less than a month, and a quarter of them had five or fewer showings before finding a buyer, “reflecting both the low supply of available homes and the rush to buy when new listings hit the market,” according to Mele.
Buying and Selling Trends Are Changing Quickly
According to Homes.com, of the survey respondents who sold their homes in the last six months:
– Thirty-three percent sold at listing price and 49% sold above listing price, with 27% accepting offers
$10,000 and even $20,000-plus higher than their requested sale price.
– Twenty-seven percent had five or fewer in-person showings before sale and 26% had between six and ten. Nearly 10% had no in-person showings at all.
– One-third sold within the first five offers received and nearly two-thirds within the
first 10.
– Twenty-two percent sold in less than two weeks, with 25% on the market for just two to four weeks and 27% for one to two months. Fewer than one-third were on the market for longer than two months.
– Nearly 60% listed their homes at or below $300,000, which is slightly below the
median existing-home sales price of $341,600, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
Purposeful Planning Is Key to Navigating the Market
No matter the level of activity, both Jordan and Bailey identified collaboration and support as key strategies for succeeding in today’s real estate market. Underlying this is proactive behavior—today’s agents and brokers should be ready to pivot to meet changing demands.
“The market is moving so quickly,” says Jordan. “The broker-to-broker relationships are becoming even more important in order to be able to help buyers move forward on those highly desirable listings and off market opportunities.”
“Buyers are emotional, tired and, at times, devastated,” says Bailey. “The ability to listen and empathize with your clients is paramount in the market.”
Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior online editor. Email her your real estate news ideas to lizd@rismedia.com.
